Sustainable Smart Packaging: Reducing Waste and Enhancing Medication Compliance

An overview of the technological advances shaping the industry.

Interactive packaging can involve QR codes or other tools that allow the patient to scan to learn more about the proper use of the medication.
Interactive packaging can involve QR codes or other tools that allow the patient to scan to learn more about the proper use of the medication.
Getty Images, credit: simonkr

Key Takeaways:

  • Confirming patient compliance with a medication regimen requires the patient to have the correct information about the medication, highlighting the benefits of interactive packaging. 
  • Smart pill bottles can integrate with online systems, allowing patients and doctors to track the timing and frequency of pill consumption.
  • Custom packaging poses interesting opportunities for improving patient experience as well as increasing sustainability. 

Many of the latest technological advances focus on medicine, with medication packaging taking great strides. Patients need packaging that is easy to open but hard to tamper with. They may also require systems that help them to remember to take their medications at the right time, possibly in their own packaging for the ease of consumption. Improvements to smart bottles, interactive packaging, and other systems can help patients and hospitals achieve these goals. By exploring these advances, along with innovations to sustainable packaging, industry professionals can improve patient experience and adherence to medical guidelines. Here are some of the innovations in medication packaging that do just that:

RFID

Radio frequency identification (RFID) can track the movement of people and assets throughout a hospital, confirming that each patient receives the correct medication. RFID has the capability to communicate with relevant systems, depending on the activity of the tag. Active tags send their own signal, while passive tags require a reader to transmit information. These tags provide a variety of information about the asset with the tag, including location, movement, temperature, and more. RFID is growing in popularity in healthcare for its ability to provide real-time information about the security of patients and assets in a care setting.

Interactive Packaging

Confirming patient compliance with a medication regimen requires the patient to have the correct information about the medication, highlighting the benefits of interactive packaging. Traditional pill bottle labels can be difficult to read, especially for those with low vision or visual disturbances. Interactive packaging can involve QR codes or other tools that allow the patient to scan to learn more about the proper use of the medication. Interactive systems allow for further customization, such as screen readers or larger fonts.

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